17 June 2017

NEW YORK -- Japan's atomic bombing survivors' "earnest wish is to witness the prohibition of nuclear weapons in their lifetime," Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui told delegates at the second round of nuclear weapons ban treaty talks at United Nations Headquarters on June 15.

Matsui furthermore called on the delegates to adopt a treaty during the current session, and to encourage nuclear powers and their allies to execute the treaty's provisions once it is signed.

"For this purpose, contracting parties to the new treaty and a wide range of civil society partners will need to join forces to conduct earnest dialogues with the nuclear-armed states and their allies to remind them that reliance on nuclear weapons is not only useless for solving the current challenges of international security, but will also endanger the survival of the entire human species," he went on.